Legal Notice: This story and all character are © 2001-2002 by Benjamin Zmoda unless otherwise specified. This story cannot be distributed, sold, or used for commercial profit without written permission from the author, nor may this story be mirrored on any other site without consent.
Of Earth, Sky, and Everyone in Between
Chapter 3
It was a very silent ride. Leo had been driving for some time, yet hadn't really gotten anywhere. Jessie spent most of the time staring straight ahead, not looking over at Leo, not saying anything. Finally she began turned to Leo, about to speak, but before she could say anything a small gasp escaped her lips.
"Oh God, Leo, pull over! You're bleeding!" she nearly shrieked. Indeed he was. Mostly hidden by his shirt, a closer examination revealed a gash running diagonally down the right side of his chest. As Leo slowed the truck to a stop, Jessie took a handkerchief out of her pocket, unbuttoned his shirt, and tried to stop the flow of blood.
She looked him square in the eye. "This looks deep... I think it's best if we get you to a hospital."
Leo nodded numbly. "Yeah, that would probably be best..." he mumbled, then thought for a moment. "Here, you drive, I'm feeling a bit weak," he continued as he slid over to change places with Jessie. "Just don't kill us on the way there," he finished with a weak smile.
Jessie, now very concerned, slid past him and sat behind the wheel. Oh shit, she thought, he'd never let me drive unless it was serious. She took a quick glance at Leo. "Keep pressure on that, and try not to move around too much," she instructed. She bit her lip as he just nodded slowly. "Hold on, I'll get you help as fast as I can."
Leo jerked his head up a few inches. "If you're planning what I think you are... you're insane... but thanks..." he finished, smiling weakly.
Jessie took one last look at Leo, then started up the car. She eased out into the street, slammed the gas pedal to the floor, and took off down the street. I don't know where the heck the hospital is, she thought, but the cops should. She tore down the streets, violating every traffic law she knew (and several she didn't) in an attempt to attract attention.
# # #
7 red lights and 55 miles per hour later...
Jessie was driving like a maniac. She had been at it for only a few minutes, but Leo's condition seemed to be degrading fast. Where the hell is a traffic officer when you need one! she yelled inside her own head. Finally, she heard a siren. She glanced in the rearview mirror, slowed, and pulled over as fast as she could.
Seconds later a badger wearing a uniform marched up to the side of the truck. "All right miss, where's the fire?" he inquired, in a cool, bored manner, as Jessie rolled down the window. He stuck his head in the window, and paled. Leo hadn't been able to hold the handkerchief to his chest tight enough and quite a bit of blood was leaking out onto his chest.
"Look. We're not from around here. He got injured in a fight, and neither of us knew where to find medical attention. Driving like that was the only way I figured I could find someone to get us there," she said in a rush. She gave the cop a pleading look. "Please, help us."
"Umm... right..." the officer trailed, then shook his head slightly. "Follow behind me then, I'll show you the fastest way." He gave her a look. "Do you think you can keep from driving like you were before?"
Jessie sighed in relief. "No problem, officer," she said weakly.
"Good, but don't think that there won't be any charges pressed for your little escapade. Anyway, let's get going, he doesn't look too good," he continued as he walked back to his car.
Jessie groaned privately. Just what I need, another black mark on my record, she thought as she looked over Leo, but at least I had a damn good reason this time. She started up the truck again and let the cop pull in from of her before continuing. Then, with all the control she could muster, she followed as neatly as she could.
# # #
10 minutes later, in front of the hospital...
Jessie stopped behind the cop in the emergency lane. She quickly got out and called over to the officer., "Give me a hand with him, I may be strong, but he's still heavy, and he can hardly support himself." She waited for him to come to the truck before trying to move Leo. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Oh, right," the cop started, having difficulty keeping his attention off of Leo, "my name's Richard." He moved next to Jessie and, together, they slowly lifted Leo (who was now mostly unconscious) out of the truck and into a position where they could carry him easily. "Let's try not to bump him around too much. We don't want to disturb that wound any more than we have to."
Jessie agreed, and they began to carry him slowly towards the door. About halfway there they were set upon by a two fur medical team with a gurney. After a few uncomfortable moments of staring, the two medical furs lifted Leo carefully and wheeled him into the hospital. Jessie and Richard jogged along behind them. "Hey!" Jessie protested, as one of them took Leo's wallet and began looking trough it.
Richard put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "Don't worry. They're just checking for his personal information. That way, they can find out who he is, and what kind of medical problems or restrictions he might have." He laughed at the skeptical look on Jessie's face. "Don't worry, the medics here are very honest."
A third medic fell in behind the first two and they engaged in rapid discussion. After a minute, he fell back and motioned for Jessie and Richard to stop. "I'll have to ask you to wait here. He's in a stable condition but he's lost a lot of blood and needs a transfusion. Problem is, we can't figure out what blood type he is. It isn't listed in his record... not much is... I'm afraid it will take us a while to do the right tests."
Jessie's eyes brightened. "Oh, that's no problem. He's B negative," she said with a wave.
The medic gave her a questioning look. "How do you know that?"
"Simple. In our profession a lot of accidents can happen, and our boss made it our business to know stuff like that on as many of our co-workers as possible. You know, in case anything ever did happen. In fact, I'm also B negative, if you need a donor," she said in a rush.
The medic continued to stare at her for a while. "Umm... okay. Come with me then, miss. Officer, if you could just wait here for a little while, we'll get things sorted out as soon as possible.
# # #
Leo awoke suddenly. He slowly sat up in bed and took a quick look around the dark room. He wondered where he was and as a spasm of pain assaulted his chest memories began to re-form in his mind. If he strained, he could remember the hellish ride to the hospital, but then, to his disgust but nothing else.
Assured of his safety, he leaned back and listened to the soft, drumming sound of rain against the window on the side of the room. When did it start raining? he asked himself. For that matter, how long have I been out?
Before he could carry on like this much longer, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an incredibly loud clap of thunder. The pain involved in moving prevented him from jumping out of bed, but did not affect his yelp of surprise. Attracted by the noise, a middle-aged canine nurse poked her head into the room. In Leo's opinion, she was very nervous about something.
"My goodness, you're awake already?" she asked as she flipped on a light.
"Why?" Leo asked, squinting in the light. "What's going on?"
"You recently received quite a large number of stitches to pull the muscles in your chest back together," she said, pointing to his chest, "Plus, you had a transfusion to replace the blood you lost while getting here. With the combination of painkillers, blood loss, and general weariness, no one expected you to wake up for another few hours."
She thought for a moment. "By the way, try not to move around too much. You could easily tear a few of those stitches and erase what good was done so far."
"How long will I be in here?" Leo inquired, flinching as another thunderclap crashed around the building.
"That all depends on your recovery. That area is particularly hard to repair, as it's always moving. You'll be here for at least a few days to ensure that there isn't an infection and to make sure that the stitches hold. I can't be more precise than that."
Leo groaned. Art must be going ballistic, he thought. Ignoring the nurse, he began to grumble under his breath and fuss over the mass of feathers that he had been lying on. The nurse, who was feeling very uneasy in his presence, said, "If you aren't going back to sleep, I'm going to send in a doctor to check up on your condition."
"Sure, go do that," he replied absent-mindedly as he continued to softly groom his wings as best he could. "I won't be able to rest until the storm is over anyway."
The nurse made a hasty retreat, and, several minutes later, the figure of a youthful looking squirrel appeared in the doorway. "Well, well, you're just one surprise after another, aren't you Leo?"
Leo was completely confused by this remark. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.
"Sorry," replied the doctor, his tone sounding slightly embarrassed. "When you first arrived, we all thought the medics at reception were trying to pull some kind of prank. When we realized that you were..." he paused, searching for the right word, "Genuine, and in need of treatment, it took us a while to get used to your... well... your physical appearance."
He made an uncertain face. "Sorry, you must get that a lot."
Leo nodded slightly. "While you're here, maybe I can get a few questions answered."
"That won't be a problem. I was the one appointed to oversee your recovery, so anything you need should be directed towards me."
He sure is perky, Leo thought to himself. He must be new to this sort of job. Out loud, he said, "Sure. First things first, how long have I been here?"
"So far, you've only been here a couple of hours," the doctor said as he glanced at his watch. "It's just a tad after 11 p.m., and you arrived at 2:07, so 9 hours, give or take a few minutes."
"That sounds right," Leo said, looking out the window. "Alright, number two..."
He paused, gathering himself, then finished, "Has an otter shown up demanding to see me?"
The doctor gave a dry laugh. "Oh yes... he made quite a scene. We had to threaten to call the cops before he would settle down. He's your boss, right?"
"Unfortunately. Oh man, he's gonna kill me..." He moaned, burying his head in his hands.
"Not until you're out of our custody," the doctor joked.
Encouraged by the short laugh Leo gave, the doctor then asked," Would you like me to give you a mild sedative? It would help with your healing if you got some rest."
"Sure," Leo said, calmer and in better humor, "But could I get a few more pillows? Sleeping on my back is never good for the feathers."
"I'll see what I can arrange."
# # #
When Leo awoke he noticed two things. The first was that it was now morning (or afternoon, he couldn't tell). He made a mental note to find out which floor he was on.
The second thing he noticed was the otter sitting in a chair on the side of a room. He did not look happy.
Leo spoke before he could think. "Oh shit!"
"Not looking forward to this conversation, eh Leo?" Arthur asked with a brief chuckle.
"Not one bit," Leo confessed.
"Look, I'm gonna go easy on you this time, since this is the first time anything like this has come up and, to tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure how to handle it. Because I know that you hate being confined, I've asked the hospital to extend you stay a little."
Seeing the look of horror and confusion creeping across Leo's face, Arthur paused and grinned wickedly. "Hey, I have to make sure you never pull a stunt like that again. If you don't like it, you shouldn't have gotten into that fight."
"Can you do that?" Leo whispered, completely flabbergasted.
"Unfortunately for you, yes I can. Besides I was informed that you medical file has a lot of gaps in it, so it can be updated while you're here."
Leo groaned. "Hey, wait a minute," he said as a thought crossed his mind, "What's going on back at camp?"
"Opening is delayed. The ground is still too wet to put down proper support and the storm last night fried on of our generators," Arthur replied with a frown.
"Seems like we're all having bad luck," Leo commented, rubbing at his bandaged chest.
His boss just shrugged. " I have to get back. I'll leave you to your own devices," he said with another wicked smile. "Have fun!"
Leo could only stare as he watched his employer waltz out of the room. When he was once again alone, he sat on the edge of his bed and glowered at nothing in particular. He wished Arthur had at least brought a book with him.
"You know what he's going to do," a misty voice said from behind Arthur.
"Yes Scarlet, I know," he said wearily. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."
"Then why do this to him?"
Arthur sighed and turned to face the speaker, Scarlet Deborah. "You probably already know why," he snapped. "He needs to learn some control and discipline, and this is a good time to really enforce it."
Scarlet lifted her head and locked her partially blind eyes on Arthur.
Scarlet was the circus's psychic (or mystic, as she preferred to be called). She was a close fried to everyone in the troop, with the exception of Arthur, and she often used that to her advantage when she tried to settle disputes. She didn't have a chance at stopping this, however.
She sighed. "Alright, Art. I know I won't be able to shift your opinion, on this, but just remember that I advised against it," she told him as she moved past to see Leo.
Witch, Arthur berated her mentally.
"I heard that, you ingrate," Scarlet snapped back to him.
After Arthur's appearance, Leo wasn't quite sure what to expect next. He truly did get a huge shock when he tore his gaze from the window and saw the pure white fur standing beside him. He broke into a wide grin when recognition dawned on him.
Of all the people that could have shown up, he was glad Scarlet decided to. Scarlet was always comforting to have around. She had a kind of mothering nature, and she was easy on the eyes too. Another one of the circus's hybrids, this Artic Fox/Artic Hare hybrid was one of the most respected members. Something was different today, though.
"Well that's a first," Leo commented, noticing Scarlet's attire. "I don't believe I've ever seen you wear anything other than those ceremonial robes of yours. Why the clothing switch?"
Scarlet smiled. She always enjoyed talking to Leo, his thoughts were almost always harmonious with his speech. It helped her stay focused. "Oh these?" she asked in a teasing manner, motioning down to the tight fitting tee shirt and cut off jeans, "Hard to believe an old gal like me can look this good, isn't it?"
He laughed. "If you weren't twice my age, I'd consider asking you out."
"If you weren't half my age, I'd probably accept. As for the robes, furs in a city like this tend to think you're in some kind of cult if you go around dressing like that. Besides, even I like to get a little attention now and then."
"So why'd you stop by?" Leo asked.
She tossed him a bag. "I brought you a few of your essentials. I knew this place didn't have anything tailored to your special needs."
Leo peaked inside. The bag contained a few shirts, shorts, and some of his boxers. "I wish you wouldn't go through my stuff," he remarked.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Scarlet asked with a smile. "There's a book in there too, I couldn't tell with one though."
"Thanks," he said. "I really appreciate this."
"I'm glad. I really need to go now. Art is my ride and I don't think he'd wait for me if I stay too long. I'll stop by again if I can."
Leo smiled and waved as Scarlet exited the room. He would definitely need all the help he could get if he was going to stay sane in this place. He sifted through the bag, pulled out the book, and settled into a comfortable position.
Things might get better, he thought to himself with a yawn. Maybe...